i know Queensland is huge but i wasnt sure how huge so i googled. it is 2 and a half times the size of Texas.
3/4 of the state if now underwater/flooded. the rain is falling so heavy it must be like standing below water level in a swimming pool. at one point they had 6 or 7 inches fall in half an hour. there is nowhere for that much water to go after a few weeks of rain making the ground totally sodden. so it runs together into a 5 metre high inland tsunami, as its been called. this hit the town of Toowoomba with no warning at all. one second it was not there, then it was there in full force. it is still raining and flooding. current death toll is ten, 5 of those children. the toll will rise as the water eventually drains away and they can reach all the wrecked cars that probably some will have people in them and others will be found where the water took them. this is by far the worst flooding they've had in the area ever so the news tells us. sounds right to me. that is a lot of land underwater. tens of thousands have been evacutated. some spent the night on the roof of their home watching the water lapping at their feet hoping that help would arrive to rescue them soon. another family were spotted on the roof of their car unable to move the car or get away from the water waiting for rescue. it was a new helicopter that spotted them. they went back to help and when help returned in another helicopter the car was gone. washed away somewhere with no idea if the family was still alive or where they were now. the sadness is devastating. Bronnie, i hope you and the rest of my good buddys in Oz are all ok when this is all over and the clean up can start. so many homes destroyed, some washed right off their piles. it is all just unbelievable. the rain continues with the worse yet to come for some places. the biggest city in the area will get hit in the next couple of hours and could be underwater across much of the city before this is over. i wont sleep well tonight if at all. :( j.
"Bronnie" wrote ... Well, with incessant rain here for weeks it has now culminated in epic proportions of flooding. When you asked about me a week ago when the floods were affecting Rockhampton and places north. I said, no we're fine here, thats hundreds of kilometres away....but now.....the latest flooding yesterday is only an hour or so away by car. This latest town (rural city really of 20,000 people) Toowoomba, is on a high range and one would never have thought of an 'inland tsunami' type rage of water flowing through there. It is a continuing tragedy as I write, 8 dead and 70 or more missing. It is the type of thing that one hears of in Europe, water suddenly flowing through small valley towns, but this town is not in a valley. Brisbane is our large capital city, of 3 million +, downstream of Toowoomba, and it is looking like some serious flooding over the next few days. The dam that was built after the bad floods in '74, has certainly helped mitigating worse floods, however that dam is now 140% full if that can be possible, and controlled release of floodwaters is necessary for a safe dam. Our immediate area on the coast is 'relatively' safe. There might be low level localising flooding when high tides and rain are concurrent events. It has been raining for weeks. I am listening to a tv bulletin as I type, it is an ongoing crisis..... Will write again when things are quieter, I feel quite despondent at present. Hugs Bronnie